File:Chęciny Zamek 001.jpg

The Chęciny Castle, near Kielce in Poland, was built at the top of a rocky hill (367 metres above sea level) dominating the town of Chęciny. It was erected in about 1300, during the reign of King Władysław Łokietek (Ladislaus the Elbow-high, Ladislaus I of Poland). The castle was extended considerably during the 15th century, when it was divided into two parts: the main castle with two characteristic, cylindrical towers (one being a donjon and the other serving as a watch tower) made of stone and the lower castle (where the octagonal tower was erected) performing economic functions.

The Chęciny Castle was was an important place on the map of medieval Poland. In 1331, the army of the Kingdom went from here to the Battle of Płowce, against the Teutonic Order. During the 14th century numerous conventions of the nobles were held at the castle. It served not only as a mighty stronghold, but as a house to the royal treasures, a residence of Polish queens (among others, of Adelaide of Hesse, the wife of Casimir III the Great, and Bona Sforza d'Aragona, the wife of Sigismund I the Old), and a prison of the state (it was chosen as a place of imprisonment for some of the officials of the Teutonic Order, including Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg, the later Grandmaster of the Order, taken hostage after the battle of Koronów, 1410).

The turbulent 17th century turned out to be very unfavourable for Chęciny. In 1607 the castle was ravaged during the Zebrzydowski's Rebellion, one of the civil wars in the Kingdom of Poland. In 1655, at the time of the Swedish Deluge, it was captured by guile by the enemy. Two years later, it was plundered by the Transylvanian troops of Prince George II Rákóczi, the ally of Charles X Gustav. Both the Swedes and the Hungarians were finally defeated, but the castle was falling into ruin. The restorarion efforts were frustrated by another Swedish invasion, which took place during the Great Northern War, in 1707. Ravaged again, the Chęciny castle became ruined and abandoned for good. Two hundred years later, during the First World War, the ruin was shelled by the Austrian artillery, since because of its strategic location it served as an observation point for the Russian troops.